 |
 |
10 Things You’ll Learn by Visiting Other Churches
Orginally published on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 11:00 AM
by Todd Rhoades
Great post by Michael at Oak Leaf Church at his blog:
Over the past four weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to check out some other church plants. A couple of times, I was able to take some people from our launch team as well, which was really cool. I wanted to post an overview of some of my thoughts in no particular order and not necessarily reflective on one particular church.
1. Ridgestone wins the award for best setup in a movie theater. Mill Creek did a great job at creating a children’s environment in a movie theater, and their children's pastor was awesome. Lake Point was very friendly in a school environment...friendly and helpful. Center Point Church in Lexington was doing a great job of spreading the word about the church.
2. Start on time. Get in the habit of starting on time no matter what and your people will get in the habit of being on time. Have something great right off the bat, so if people are late, they miss it. I’ve heard from a couple of different places that people make their decisions to come back or not to come back VERY early.
3. Put friendly people at the doors and on your stage. We went to a couple of churches that really didn’t come across friendly right from the beginning - it took a while for them to welcome us. Your people that are just welcoming and friendly and friendly looking…they need to be greeters. Where's the rule that the pastor always has to do the welcome? You can’t put a price tag on creating a welcoming environment. It takes a lot of work, but there's a big payoff.
4. Lighting helps creates environment. A couple of the movie theater churches I attended were just too dark. This was great for video and worship, but not so good for the message. It’s hard to write things down in the dark. Shoot some par lighting at the ceiling, I don’t know…I’m not a lighting guy. But too much darkness (or too much daylight) can really affect the atmosphere.
5. Coffee and fruit and muffins and bagels at several churches were really nice touches. They were done with excellence nearly every time, and it looked like some sharp volunteers were all over this. This went a long way towards creating a welcoming environment and increase the “hang-out factor” before the service. Rigdgestone had a great coffee area. Mill Creek had Krispy Kreme donuts.
6. Look for some little ways to create wow experiences. Maybe it’s a sticker on a baby’s diaper that says “I’ve just been changed.” Maybe you make pens available (that’s not all that exciting, but if you ask people to take notes or write things down, give them a pen). Make your bulletin and signage match your series. We’re going to take a staff meeting and just talk about the little things we can do to create wow experiences. (Share yours.)
7. I’ve got lots of thoughts to post later about words on the screen. But if you have a special song that the band plays, always put the lyrics on the screen. It’s hard to understand words to songs you don’t know. And you should never have more than four lines of text on one screen.
8. Signs are important. Figure out how many signs you need to direct people to parking, childcare and bathrooms, and then double that number. Put signs outside and in hallways and in front of rooms. Signs aren’t that expensive and they make things a ton easier on guests. If you’re meeting in a rented facility that already has signs up (school signs, movie posters, etc.) you need bigger and better signs that really stand out.
9. Make sure you have enough stage lights. Setting lights only at wide angles creates distracting shadows. Again I say unto you, lighting is important.
10. Relevance and truth are not mutually exclusive. I know modern, post modern, emergent, contemporary, etc. churches often get a bad rap about this, but these two words are not polar opposites. Most of these churches were relevant as well as being true to God’s word. Lots of scripture references. Lots of sharing God’s truth not just man’s opinion. When this is done in a relevant, excellent way, it really hits home. It’s possible to throw truth out there and make no difference because people don’t understand it.
11. Bonus: I’ve got a pretty short attention span. Unless you’re Andy Stanley, you probably shouldn’t teach more than 45 minutes. (And if you ARE Andy Stanley, thanks for reading my blog.) That’s just a long time to teach and people tune out and forget everything you say. I'm not saying you need to teach for 20 minutes, but you cannot talk for an hour and expect to keep people's attention.
What do you think? Is this a good assessment?
This post has been viewed 204 times so far.
TRACKBACKS: (1)
There are 18 Comments:
Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.
MondayMorningInsight.com | PO Box 446 | Bryan, OH 43506 |
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 11:23 AM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 11:45 AM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 11:58 AM
-
Posted by phill
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 12:17 PM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 12:22 PM
-
Posted by eric
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 12:31 PM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 12:34 PM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 12:35 PM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 1:30 PM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 3:07 PM
-
Posted by Phil Hoover-Chicago
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 3:38 PM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 3:52 PM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 4:12 PM
-
Posted by Paul Davis
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 at 10:37 AM
-
Posted by
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 at 6:13 PM
-
Posted by
Thursday, April 13, 2006 at 1:57 AM
-
Posted by
Monday, April 17, 2006 at 6:33 PM
-
Posted by
Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 1:26 PM
Post Your Comments:A comment on greeters: make sure those that greet are good representatives of the church. Not everyone should greet. Some churches throw just anyone back there. Bad idea.
Unfortunately, age needs to be considered. We were looking for a new church one day (typical family, husband, wife, 3 adorable children). We pulled up to a very nice looking church, and all the greeters were senior adults. We turned around our car and left.
I didn’t want to raise my kids in a senior adult center. Did I give the church a chance? Absolutely not. Was I wrong to do this? Possibly so. But I only had so many Sunday mornings to check out some possibilities. I imagine I’m not alone.
Also be careful who you put on the phone. That is the front line of the church. It better be representative.
45 minutes? Usually 30 should do it… (We go over 30 all the time here, but our senior pastor is remarkable at holding attention for 40 or more minutes… But any time I’d preach… I’d stay as close to 30 as I could...)
Peter -
Andy Stanley told me that YOUR church was the exception to the 40 minute rule!
I am a student of other churches and love going and visiting other places…
However this past year we still went to some but made a mental shift to stop watching and just do…
I agree with everything that was mentioned in the post and all systems need to be up and humming…
But there is something even more incredible for a church when you start to have huge wins…
Here at Skyline we did an outdoor Christmas program that reached 17000 people…
We just did a Mud run…big in Southern California…and had 1400 race the first event…
This week we are having an outdoor Easter service with an East county Easter egg hunt…we hope 6000 come to the campus…
All except Easter were brain child’s of the staff…and they provided tipping points we all needed…these events except for Easter…have never been done to my knowledge at any church???
All I am saying is that we can learn from others…and we need to learn from others…but never allow other peoples success stifle your own…be creative and go where others can’t or won’t…
Good days!
http://pastorphill.typepad.com/phillip_longmire/
Recently had the chance with our pastor search committee to scope out how others “do church” and the biggest thing they mentioned was the power point screens. It seems our church is unusual in that our visual dude is motivated to put pictures on the screens with the words. He finds them all over the internet and they really illustrate the lyrics. So much prettier than just the blue screen. We kind of thought everyone did this.
Since I resign as pastor a few weeks ago, I have had an opportunity to go look around at other churches. I think the article is right. We went to one church where we were greeted at the door, and the people walked around us without a single word until the “official” greeting time.
Also, if you are on staff and say, “Hey, I will give you a call this week.” Do it.
We also have an almost perfect experience at another church. I think what makes a church good is paying attention to the little things, the details. Most other things can be lived with.
I think some real good helpful suggestions. I am with Peter try to keep the sermons to 30 minutes if you can. We are getting ready to move to our FLC because we out grew our Sanct. Our FLC is a steel building, so we are struggling right now to not make it sound like we are worship in a tin can. Any advice?
OOps, We are trying to make it NOT sound like we are worshiping in a tin can
Couple more comments and suggestions:
1.I agree with MusicMan – pay attention to ushers and greeters. This is a job the seniors love, but it visitors will assume that this group represents a cross-section of the church, so they DO. This means your church’s diversity in age, gender, ethnicity, etc. Even what these folks wear matters (dresses, suits and ties says one thing, skirts and slacks, sweaters and button downs says another, Hawaiian shirts and flip flops another).
2.Most churches front load the friendliness crew, but visitors don’t have much time to for friendly chitchat before church, after finding a place to park, getting kids settled, etc. Consider back loading (after the service) some of your hospitality volunteers. People have time to chat while walking out of the service and afterward in the lobby.
3.Regarding number 5 – the coffee and muffin time. It is very important to seed this with people who have been coached and equipped to intentional seek out newcomers and people they don’t know. If visitors stand around with their coffee watching the church folks chatting with their friends, the coffee and muffin time will make your church actually seem unfriendly. We all have good intentions, but the reason we love our church is that we have relationships here, and Sundays are when we connect. It is much more natural to gravitate toward those we know than those we don’t.
4.When visiting churches, respond using the mechanisms they provide (even if you live out of town). Learn about how they follow-up. Ask a question on a communication card, check a couple of boxes, keep a copy of the welcome letter, make note of how the attempts to get acquainted with you and help you engage.
Wendi
Concernint “Relevance and truth are not mutually exclusive.”
-------------------------------
Churches Need Relevance
People go to Church to get away from themselves. With more Americans dismissing the relevance of traditional Christianity to their lives, a growing number of church leaders are saying that it is time for a major change in the way believers try to share their faith.
Churches need relevance and creditability through the quality and power of the inspiring belief. As written in the Gospel (Psalm 92:13) “planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.”
Brian D. McLaren is a pastor, author, speaker, and networker among innovative Christian leaders, thinkers, and activists. Pastor McLaren, Cedar Ridge Community Church, Spencerville, MD., said many churches are too quick to give answers without even finding out what the questions are. “We turn people outside the church into enemies with whom we are engaged in warfare, not lost sheep for whom the Shepherd cares and to whom we have been sent.”
Does it bother you to follow what the sheep are doing?
Don’t compare yourself; do what God wants.
As written in the Gospel (1 Corinthians 10:12-15) “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”—“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.”
As one who has been part of “the church” for all of my life, let me add one or two here:
1) The Crystal Cathedral (in California, YES, that one!) had a policy many years ago, that first-time visitors would always been invited to lunch after the Sunday Morning worship service in which they were visiting.
Whomever found them first, would always invite these people out to lunch, either at a restaurant, or in their homes.
GREAT IDEA!
2) Be authentic and real. Don’t have a “thousand meetings” after the Morning Worship service....
Phil Hoover
Chicago
http://www.philhoover-chicago.blogspot.com
If you really want some scoop on how ‘unchurched’ people - the ones we need to be welcoming into the body of Christ - read about the ebay atheist and his blog.
On the topic of greeters, it is very important that they be sensitive to the needs of people who may be visiting the church for the first time in years.
I hadn’t been for probably 30 years, and I freaked out when people were shaking my hand, trying to name tag me, and generally begin the assimilation process. All I wanted to do was visit a church.
Ah Roland, good point. Churches need to have good systems for those who want to connect and assimilate (and they’ll usually tell you by their willingness to chat with other members, fill out a card or otherwise ask for help).
On the other hand, we need to allow people to sit invisibly on the pew until they want to engage.
The Holy Spirit and the church in partnership.
Wendi
I agree with Wendi’s point #3 (on point #5) - I recently joined a new church and they did have the ‘group’ chit chat among the already present members. It felt weird coming from the prior church where most all of the workers knew me and my family and I couldn’t walk 10 feet without someone I knew to say hi to. At first in this church, I felt like I was an outsider. However, I’m pretty engaging when I want to be and I just started talking to some of the people and a few weeks later, I’m usually in a conversation or two after church.
I also agree with the “don’t overload the new guy” comment by Roland. Satan was all over me when I came back to church as an adult and too friendly people seemed really freaky to me.
Re: the baby-diaper comment. I knew I was in a good place when a lady in the pew in front of me told me there was a children’s church and offered to lead me and my kids there. That is very good PR.
Paul - you are a good case for why my comments in #3 (refering to #5) are important. You are in the 7% of people who self-engage (here I go, giving stats . . .). But 93% of people are not, especially the unchurched who are intimidated by all the people who seem to understand how to navigate the world of church.
One of the best reasons to be a visitor is to see what it feels like to be a visitor. Then if you feel uncomfortable, just try to imagine how uncomfortable you’d feel if you hardly ever set foot on a church campus.
Wendi
We have started our church plant at an apartments club house. We have been so plessed. Our first services we had 48 people come. The room max is 49. Can you say second service. No just kidding. The managers at the apartment complex have been great. We have live worship for 20 minutes a prayer request time, then the message. We close by noon, one hour service. The music and the message flow out of the club house out towards the pool and grassy court yard.
We mailed directly to the apartment people for Easter. We handed out breakfeast burritos in the morning and had a Easter egg hunt for the kids. God blessed us with between 80 to 100. So many kids, could not keep count! It was great.
Thank you for MMI I read it on mondays and pass it along to other believers.
We started our church plant cold in Feb with only 3 families or 10 believers. God is so good to us.
I do not agree with the 30 minute sermon rule. Say what God wants you to say to the church. If it takes 10 minutes then don’t stretch it to 11. If it takes 60 minutes, then don’t try to crunch it down to 30. Mark Driscoll regularly goes an hour and I can listen to him for that time easily. (By the way, his church ain’t doing too bad). I think the key is to know that you have God’s message for the people and you give it to them in a way that connects. We can all sit to watch a 2 hour movie, so if we engage the people, then they can sit for more than 30 minutes and they will hear from God—if we have heard from God first.
Page 1 of 1 pages